Tag Archives: dstv

JUST IN: Nigerian lawmakers to investigate DSTV Nigeria

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The House of Representatives on Wednesday mandated its Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values to investigate the ‘exorbitant charges’ and refusal of Multichoice Nigeria, owners of Dstv and Gotv, to adopt ‘Pay As You Go’ package option.

The resolution was due to a motion by Abbas Tajudeen (Kaduna-APC).

Mr. Tajudeen said it has been the company’s practice, to increase the prices of its packages almost on a yearly basis.

“For instance, in 2013, the monthly subscription increased by 7-10%, in 2014 by 10-15% and in 2015 by 10-22%,” he said.

“Just recently, the company sent a notification of another hike with effect from May 1st, 2017,” he added.

He said the increasing prices of the various bouquet offered by the company and its refusal to offer a ‘Pay as you Go’ package option is causing serious financial strain on its subscribers.

He said Dstv does not have a ‘Pay As You Go’ package like some of its counterparts across the world which makes its subscription plan expire at the end of the monthly subscription period, whether or not the subscriber uses the service.

The lawmaker added that the regular increase in the prices of various bouquet and refusal to adopt the ‘Pay As You Go’ package is against all known and fair business practices all over the world.

Mr. Tajudeen expressed his disappointment at the seeming inability of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, Consumer Protection Council and other regulatory agencies to exercise their authority on the company.

There have been calls by Nigerians to compel Multichoice to introduce the ‘Pay As You Go’ package in Nigeria.

The House of Representatives had also in a bid to break the monopoly of Dstv, passed a bill meant to make broadcasting more competitive in the country.

 

Source: Premium Times

DStv, GOtv to increase subscription tariff from 1st of May.

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MultiChoice, owners of DStv and GOtv, has increased subscription rates by five percent, with effect from May 1, 2017.

This is coming less than two years after Nigerians threatened to boycott MultiChoice Nigeria over 20 percent subscription hike.

Back then, a court ordered the company not to increase the rates pending the determination of a suit filed against it by some lawyers, but MultiChoice waved aside the order.

Under the new price regime, the monthly subscription on DStv premium bouquet, which is N13,980 will be N14,700. Compact Plus DStv subscribers will pay N9,900 as against the current N9,420, while Compact subscribers will no longer pay N6,000 but N6,300.

Family bouquet subscribers will now be charged N3,800 as against the N3,600 they are paying at the moment, while Access bouquet would be N1,900 and not N1,800.

Commercial bouquet, which is currently N1,720, has been adjusted to N1,850.

The new rates for, GOtv Value and GOtv Lite bouquets, are N1,300 and N450, against the current rates of N1,200 and N400.

GOtv Plus subscribers will have to pay N1,900 instead of the current rate of N1,800.

MultiChoice has defended its action, saying the adjustment was made after careful consideration and a review of its business operations.

“We announced last year that we would do everything possible to hold the price barring any extreme factors,” John Ugbe, managing director of Multichoice Nigeria, said in a statement.

“However, all our content is purchased in dollars and although we have done everything possible to hold the prices even with the price of everything else going up, we are now left with no choice but to adjust our subscription prices from May 1.

“Our key priority is to put subscribers’ needs at the heart of everything we do and therefore, in determining the price adjustment, we took into account many factors including, the impact on the customer, current inflation which stands at 19 per cent, programming costs and efficiencies within the company. Please be assured that we have worked really hard to keep this year’s fees manageable.”

 

Source: The Cable

Nigerian Senate May Expel DSTV, MTN, Shoprite Over Xenophobic Attacks

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Nigerian Senate on Tuesday weighed the option of expelling South African companies in Nigeria over xenophobic attacks.

This is coming as Nigerians in South African are at the mercy of various attacks by the citizens who believed that Nigerian citizens have taken over many of their jobs.

Senator Olusola Adeyeye representing Osun Central constituency of Osun State gave the hint during Tuesday’s plenary.

See tweet:

Xenophobia: Nigerian students threaten South African companies

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The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given 48 hours ultimatum to all South African companies in Nigeria to relocate over the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

The students gave the ultimatum at a peaceful demonstration at some South African companies in Abuja on Thursday.

During the march the students carried a banner, which read: “NANS Against Xenophobic Attacks on Nigerians.”

While the students marched, the security men stood and watched to ensure law and order.

The president of NANS, Kadiri Aruna, said in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at DSTV office, a South African company, in Wuse 2, Abuja, that Nigerian students had resolved to condemn the attacks.

“We are saying that enough is enough as South Africans have openly attacked and bullied Nigerians,” he said.

Mr. Aruna said that the protest would also serve as a warning to other countries trying to underrate Nigerians.

He said that after 48 hours, if nothing was done, messages would be sent to students in all university campuses to bring down MTN masts all over the country.

Mr. Aruna said that DSTV and Shoprite would also be affected as the union had put adequate strategies in place to make the action effective.

“All the South African business empires in Nigeria and their collaborators in Nigeria will be affected.

“I don’t want to say we will be barbaric but we will not be lawful in our actions, we will do it and face the consequences, enough of this rubbish,’’ he said.

Mr. Aruna stressed that the poor treatment being meted out to Nigerians was particularly insulting given the role Nigeria played in ending the apartheid regime in South Africa.

“Nigeria contributed 80 per cent of the freedom the South Africans are enjoying today because we saved them from the jaws of apartheid.

“Who is South Africa to humiliate Nigeria? So they forget things so soon, let them go back to history and records to see how much financial assistance and what the country did to save them,’’ he said.

The union president said that the situation was inhuman and for this reason all reasonable Nigerians must react.

“In science they say you use malaria to cure malaria, now you use madness to cure their madness, and that is why we are advising them to leave Nigerian soil before 48 hours.’’

He said that the Federal Government should not wait till the dying minute before evacuating Nigerians from South Africa.

Mr. Aruna said it was time for government not to only condemn the attacks but take a firm stand by summoning South Africa’s high commissioner and if possible cut diplomatic ties with that country.

“Government should take extra-diplomatic measures in dealing with the latest deadly assaults because if nothing drastic is done it will become a regular occurrence.

“This is the time to place South Africa where it belongs,’’ he said.

He said that the last time the xenophobic attack happened nothing was done, no action was taken and no arrest was made and that was why South Africans repeated the attacks.

Aruna said it was so unfortunate that during the attacks the South African Government refused to take up its responsibility of securing Nigerians and their properties.

“The government of South Africa is criminally quiet and they say silence is consent, and their police are folding their hands while they are killing Nigerians, this is conspiracy, enough is enough,’’ he said.

He said the peaceful rally would continue and spread across the country.

Over 50 police and, DSS operatives surrounded the DSTV premises and along the street making it impossible for NAN to contact any DSTV officials for comments.

 

Source: NAN

Reps to investigate GOTV licence

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The House of Representatives on Tuesday mandated its Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values to investigate the licence status of GOTV in the provision of digital terrestrial television services in Nigeria.

The committee is also to engage the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to enforce the pay-per view scheme on the digital television broadcasting service providers for the benefit of Nigerians.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled “Call for Investigation of the License Status of GOTV in the Provision of Digital Terrestrial Television Services in Nigeria’’, sponsored by Jones Onyereri (PDP-Imo).

Moving the motion, Mr. Onyereri argued that GOTV does not possess the licence to provide digital terrestrial television services in Nigeria.

He said that “Details Nigeria Limited” was the company which obtained a Digital Mobile TV (DSTV MOBILE) for 10 Nigerian cities in 2007.

“However, the licence granted to Details Nigeria Limited was converted by GOTV to provide digital terrestrial television through a high-tech manoeuvre without due process and in violation of the provisions of the law,” Mr. Onyeriri said.

According to him, the National Broadcasting Commission is empowered to regulate the operations of Radio and Television stations, including Cable Television Services, direct broadcasting and any other medium of broadcasting in Nigeria.

“Section 2 (1) (g) of the Act empowers the Commission to receive processes and consider applications for the establishment, ownership or operations of radio and television stations in Nigeria.

“The section of the Act specifically empowers the Commission to control and regulate the operations as well as upholding the principles of equity and fairness in the broadcasting industry.

“In violation of the Act, GOTV, a subsidiary of Multi-Choice Nigeria, started operations of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in April 2012 at Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Lagos without passing through the due process of bidding for the private signal distribution.

“Nigerians are made to pay for what they do not consume through the monthly subscription scheme presently obtainable in the service charges of major Digital Television Broadcasting service providers like DSTV, Star times and GOTV.

“This is as against the pay per view scheme obtainable in other countries like USA, UK, Brazil, France, and even South Africa,” Mr. Onyereri said.

The committee was given eight weeks to carry out the investigation and report back to the House for further legislative action.

We have been fair to our subscribers in Nigeria – DSTV

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MultiChoice Nigeria has described as misleading and inaccurate recent media reports accusing it of unfairness to Nigerian subscribers.

In the last few weeks, there have been media reports purporting that MultiChoice effected a 20 per cent slash in DStv subscription in countries which it operates, leaving out Nigeria and South Africa.

In a statement signed by Caroline Oghuma, Public Relations Manager, DStv, the company said that subscription rates across countries are easily verified, and that all the facts are on the internet for all to see.

While admitting that DStv bouquet subscriptions were slashed in other countries, as reported, she explained that reduction was way below the 20 per cent claimed by the authors of the reports.

On the exclusion of Nigeria from the list of countries affected by the slash, Oghuma said Nigerian DStv subscribers have always paid lower rates than subscribers in the affected countries and, despite the recent reduction, still pay lower.

“For two years, prices were not increased in Nigeria until April, 2015. Even when they were increased, they remained substantially lower than in other countries.

MultiChoice made a decision to absorb costs on behalf of the Nigerian subscriber because the company recognizes that the country is passing through a difficult economic phase,” she explained.

On the agitation for “pay-as-you-view”, Oghuma said there is no such model in pay-television, blaming the demand on misinformation, which makes the public confuse pay-as-you-view with pay-per-view (PPV).

Pay-per-view, she explained, is a model used in the telecast of one-off, usually, high-ticket events in sports and entertainment.

She said the pay-per-view requires a subscriber to have an active subscription on top of which an amount is paid for the specific event the subscriber desires to watch on pay-per-view.

“A good example of this was last year’s world boxing title bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. The two-hour fight was exclusively on pay-per-view in the United States, where boxing fans paid $99.5 to watch the fight in addition to having an active subscription. In Nigeria, boxing fans watched it on DStv’s SuperSport as part of their Premium bouquet. Pay-per-view is considerably more expensive and is for one-off events,” she said.

She added that the company remains committed to providing improved services and customer-focused initiatives because it values its subscribers.

Recently, she said, the company made available toll-free lines on all the mobile telephone networks in the country to ensure that subscribers can reach its call centres at no cost when they have issues with the service.

The operating hours at its call centres, she further said, have been extended and is now 8am to 9pm daily, including on weekends and public holidays.

In addition, Oghuma said, MultiChoice is the first pay-TV service provider to allow customers to switch off their accounts for seven days twice a year when they are not at home. The company also announced the Nigerian Television International (NTAi) channel as the Free-to-Air channel for subscribers when their subscription expires.

“These initiatives received a nod of approval from the Consumer Protection Council (CPC),” she concluded.

DSTV Slashes Cost Of Subscription Across Africa, Plans Increase In Nigeria.

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MultiChoice Limited, owners of DStv and GoTV, is set to reduce the monthly DStv subscription fees between 11 percent and 21 per cent from November 1, 2016 in several African countries, EXCLUDING Nigeria.

According to findings, DStv would also add several exciting channels to the lower-tiered bouquets in the black nations to boost the content offering for cheaper packages and add content value. The countries that would benefit from the offer are Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Botswana, neglecting Nigeria, its biggest market.

There are chances that the company may soon increase the subscription fee in Nigeria.

Some of the new channels the subscribers in these countries would view are a sister channel to the Telenovela, Eva+; pop-up M-Net channels, M-Net Movies, BlockParty and Harry Potter among others.

Some of the subscribers said in separate interviews, disclosed that they would stop their subscriptions if the company embarked on what they described as ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. For instance, Engr. Toba Biobaku, one of the numerous subscribers of DStv, alleged the company is allergic to providing good services for Nigerians at affordable prices.

To the manager of one of the construction company in the country, the company has passion for fleecing Nigerians without value for their money. Despite the current economic recession, he stated that several Nigerians still renew their subscription and the reward they could get from Multichoice is to use their monies to reward subscribers in other African nations.

“When Multichoice bowed to pressures made by consumers and the Consumers Protection Council recently when it introduced a customer care toll free lines easily, I knew it that the company has hidden agenda. The most painful part of it is that most of us are being cheated without compensation as it failed to clear the E-16 code from our television sets for a week. When the error was erased later, my subscription was not extended,” he lamented.

Another subscriber that is perturbed about the plan of the operator of the pay TV service is the Managing Director of Jumobite Fashion. The premium subscriber of DStv threatened to lead a peaceful protest to the Tiamiyu Savage street, Victoria Island, Lagos headquarters of the company along with some of her friends, who are also premium subscribers.

For her, the tariff of the bouquet is too expensive compared to what other subscribers in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Botswana pay. According to her, asking Nigerians viewers to pay more for few channels and asking their counterparts in those countries to pay less for more is absurd and a way of saying Nigerians are gullible.

There are indications that hundreds of thousands of the subscribers of the pay TV firm might not renew their monthly subscription if the company embark on the fee slashed. Findings revealed that the company makes an average of about N8 billion from over 4 million patrons every month in Nigeria and about N80 billion as turnover per year.

A top source close to the management of Multichoice Nigeria, who claimed anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that the company decided to slashed fees in the countries after it observed that about 40 per cent of its subscribers had refused to renew their subscriptions due to economic recession that bites harder their compared to Nigeria, which has been recently rated the biggest economy in the continent.

“The stiff DStv price hikes put subscribers under pressure in those countries and we have lost about 300,000 subscribers in the countries in one year as people could no longer afford the service or no longer saw it as valuable enough. When reviewing our packages and prices in each country, we take into account local dynamics such as inflation, content costs, foreign exchange rates, local taxes and overheads required for each business.

“To compensate our Nigerian viewers, we will introduce more amazing channels to the existing entertaining programmes. We have also embark on an aggressive marketing and follow up innovation to ensure most of our subscribers do not abandon their bouquets. We call subscribers a few days to the expiration of their subscriptions to remind them about the reasons they should not miss out of the global village,” she revealed.

But in a quick response, a business lawyer, Bar. Seun Adewole, stated that while most Nigerians suffered in silence, foreign companies like Multichoice ripped them off their hard earned money. Aside from the fact that he also believe it is wrong for an international company to set double standards for its patrons, he said that subscribers should fight for their rights using legal means by questioning the decisions of the firm, sending complaints to regulatory agencies like the Consumers’ Protection Council and the Federal Ministry of Communication and Technology.

“Sending complaints to the National Assembly had proven to be a waste of time and resources. Similar issues had been discussed on the floor of the assembly but none had yielded any desired result as it appears that gifts exchange hands after a lot of noise had been made by the lawmakers. For instance, the house of representative had debate on the pay as you view initiative for years and nothing has been done to it and I am not surprised that the company had excluded Nigerians from the beneficiaries of the price slash,” he stated.

Nigeria Has No Power To Regulate DSTV Prices- MultiChoice

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?South African digital satellite television company, Multichoice, has defended its decision to increase DSTV subscription rates in Nigeria, saying neither the country nor its courts, has the powers to regulate its prices.

The ruling on the objecti?on by Multichoice Nigeria Limited against an application seeking to stop ?the price increase ?has been scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2015 at the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Two Lagos-based lawyers, Oluyinka Oyeniji and Osasuyi Adebayo, had initiated a class action on behalf of millions of Nigerians who criticised the new subscription rates as exploitative and insensitive.

The duo had sought the order of the court to stop MultiChoice or its agents from implementing the 20 per cent hike in the fees charged subscribers for using the service effective April 1, 2015.

The plaintiffs equally asked the court to compel the National Broadcasting Commission to take steps to monitor and regulate MultiChoice operations in Nigerian to ensure that it does not hike their fees arbitrarily.

The two applicants said they were expecting the NBC to ensure that they compel DSTV to deal with Nigerians the same way DSTV deals with other subscribers in other parts of the continent where MultiChoice operates, by ensuring that the pay-per-view scheme was introduced in the country.

This arrangement, they argued, would ensure that Nigerian subscribers to DSTV would only pay for programmes actually watched, as is the case in South Africa.

Read More: premiumtimesng

Abuja Residents Threaten To Boycott DSTV Over Court Order

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Some Abuja residents on Tuesday threatened to boycott subscription to Multichoice Nigeria services following the company’s disregard of a court order restraining it from increasing its tariff.

Multichoice is providing satellite television and broadcast services to Nigerians and some other African countries through DSTV and GoTV channels.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the restraining order was issued by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

The order followed a class action suit filed by two Lagos-based lawyers, Messrs Osasuyi Adebayo and Oluyinka Oyeniji, against the company, challenging the increase in cost of subscription.

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos had on April 2, restrained the company from implementing its new subscription tariff from April 1, pending the determination of the suit.

NAN recalls that the judge had said that there should be no increase until the court meets to hear and determine the case.

In his remarks on the court order, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), Multichoice’s lawyer, said applications to discharge the order and to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter had been filed.

Onigbanjo also explained that the order was made a day after Multichoice started the implementation of the new rates, and that the order was brought to the attention of his client on April 8.

According to Mr Adelaja Onipede, a client of Multichoice, the company has no reason whatsoever to increase its tariff because of the quantity of subscribers to its services in Nigeria.

Another Multichoice client, Miss Ngozi Anosike, said,”The company has not improved its services; rather, it is cheating innocent Nigerians who spend their hard earned money to subscribe to their services.”

“We have not been able to get value for our money; this type of outright cheating needs to be curbed.

“The company should maintain the status-quo in line with the court’s order, period,” Anosike said.

Mr Danladi Dogo, a business man, on his part, urged the company to encourage Nigerians by investing more on the growth of the nation.

“It would be better for them to improve their services by showing the latest innovative programmes without frequent repetition rather than just siphoning our money away.

“In fact, they should reduce the tariff to enable people in the rural areas access the services easily and they should establish more offices across the country especially in the riverside areas.

“They should also focus on offering Nigerian students, at home and abroad, scholarships, creating jobs and carrying out other positive activities as part of their social responsibility,’’ Dogo said.

Mr Osuji Emenike, an activist, said he would encourage people to carry out a peaceful rally if, at the end of the month, the Multichoice refused to address the issue.

“We have folded our hands enough for South Africans to take us for fools; look at what they are doing to our brothers in their country, we cannot do that to them here.

“No foreign company can disregard an order of the court in their country and it would be accepted calmly; Nigerians need to open their eyes.

We Will Shut Down All South African Businessess In Nigeria Including MTN, DSTV- Tolu Adesanya

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The South African government has been given 48 hours to stop xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals and their shops or else their companies abroad will be shut down.

An official with the newly elected All Progressive Congress (APC), Tolu Adesanya, confirmed to eNCA that they handed down a memorandum to the South African embassy in Lagos on Wednesday.

In the memorandum, the APC party officials and members of civil society groups have demanded that South Africa take swift action against attacks on foreign nationals.

Adesanya said that Nigeria will shut down South African businesses if their demands are not met by South Africa.

“We actually handed a letter to the South African embassy yesterday, making them aware that we are not happy with what is going on in South Africa. Should there be any more attacks, we are going to shut down South African businesses in Nigeria. That is MTN, Multi Choice, Shoprite etc,” said APC official Tolu Adesanya.

APC officials and civil rights groups planned to march to a South African embassy on Thursday.

Thursday’s march has been supported by African Diaspora Forum.

ADF’s Vice Chairman Jean-Pierre Lukamba told eNCA that “actually they (Nigerians) don’t have a choice”.

South African companies in other African countries include cellphone company MTN, retail giant Shoprite, and satellite TV provider Multi Choice among others.

Read More: naijaloaded

DSTV Implements 20% Subscription Hike Against Court Order

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Nigerians are at the losing end again after MultiChoice Nigeria, a South African satellite TV company implemented its 20 percent subscription hike despite court order stopping it from taking such action pending the determination of a suit filed against it by some lawyers.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos state had ordered DSTV to revert to its old subscription fee. The order followed a suit filed by two lawyers challenging what they termed an arbitrary increment in subscription rates imposed by MultiChoice Nigeria, operators of DStv and GOtv pay-TV platforms, on their subscribers.

Justice C.J. Aneke, in an interim order asked MultiChoice to revert to its old subscription rates pending the determination of the suit on the legality of its new tariffs.

Read More: dailypost

MultiChoice (DSTv) Tariffs And The Rest Of Us By Adetomiwa Olatoye

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I need not begin to introduce to the readers that the biggest singular cable-service provider in Nigeria is the MultiChoice DSTv. I would also not need to remind the readers that MultiChoice DSTv have increased tariffs arbitrarily in the past without consideration to the rest of us and they have infact made tariff increment a yearly affair. I do not need to remind us that the even the service delivered to us under the current arrangement is below par (when compared to the service enjoyed in the outside world) despite the acrimoniously heavy tariffs – please share with me what happens to your service at the slightest indication of a rainfall. Share with me how many minutes you have to wait for the decoder/service to come back up when there is rain downpour. I do not need to remind us that our leaders have done nothing about this insensitivity and that they will do nothing about it, despite the fact that most of them are supposedly well-travelled.

My job today is to throw open to us the exploitative nature of the billing system adopted by MultiChoice DSTv in Nigeria and deception sold to the rest of us overtime. Same MultiChoice DSTv is a South African company and they run pay-as-you-watch (which I will henceforth refer to as PAYW in this write-up) over there. I am aware that’s the system run in Europe as well, to a larger percentage. The question bothering the minds of most Nigerians is why can’t this billing system be implemented here in Nigeria. Why is this so difficult? The current system being implemented is a complete a rip-off and smacks of cooperate cheating. Look at this way. I am here in my office at the moment, nobody is in my house right now because my wife is also at work and my kids have gone to school, hence my house is currently devoid of a living soul and so the Tv is not on, yet my bill is running. That is completely outrageous. Think about it. MultiChoice DSTv is taking serious advantage of the Nigerian situation. It becomes more appalling and more nerve-wrecking when you realize that our leaders and policy-makers make no concerted effort to correct this imbalance, despite their claims to being well-travelled.

Matter-of-factly, DSTV subscription in Nigeria is pre-paid anyways. Interpretation – you cannot enjoy the service without paying first. My interaction with people shows people don’t have a problem with paying. The point is let it be charged/billed PAYW and we will be fine. Let me be charged only when I switch on my decoder. My decoder cannot be off and inactive and yet my bill is running. I travel out of the country for 2 weeks, yet my bill is running. So I pay for one month, I enjoy 2 weeks service, then next month I go and pay for another 1month again. I dare say again that it is a complete rip-off. It is completely amazing that anybody would put up a defense for such anomaly.

Let the billing / charging system be changed to PAYW and we will be fine. I have a convincing believe that MultiChoice DSTv will even get more customers/subscribers with that system/approach. But they are currently blind to the realization of that truth.

?There is a wide gap of difference between PAYW and flat rate system. For instance (and this example may not be completely sacrosanct), it is just like my Telephone. If I Load 5k on it, I can choose to use it for 1 month or 2 months or 3 months, if I like. Or I can even use it completely in 2 days. It is my choice, and it is very fine by me because it is charged per usage. This is exactly what should be happening to the DSTv billing system. When GSM came into Nigeria, there is no manner of argument that MTN (another South African company) did not put forward to say per-second billing is not possible nor realizable. Then enter Globacom and the rest is history. Today, we are all living witnesses to the situation on our telephone billing. This exactly is what we are demanding MultiChoice DSTv to adopt for the billing system….a PAYW billing mode, just like it happens in other places.

?Some people have attempted to throw-up an argument of the content providers in defense of the service providers. And my position is simple. Give me the choice of the content that provides PAYW and the ones that stipulates a flat rate, and then let me choose. Let it be my choice these are the contents I want to use my subscription to watch, and then charge me on PAYW. Again like my telephone, I have a Youtube app on it. But this does not necessarily mean I must use my data-plan to watch the Youtube. It has to be my choice. I am allowed to choose if the Youtube app on my phone is more important to me or it is just the regular Twitter and Facebook apps I want to use my data-plan for. I should be able to choose. This is a modern world. Leave me with the option to choose what I want to watch and then charge me pari-pasu my content choice in a PAYW billing mode, even if it costs me more.

Currently, the MultiChoice DSTv premium bouquet has close to about 100 stations or so. The big question is how many of it do I tune to. How many of these stations do I get to watch? Why should I be billed for something that doesn’t even catch my fancy? Why must I be charged for it? Why must it be on my bill? These are very pertinent questions. There are currently about 6 different bouquets on the DSTv, each with different fixed prices (flat rate). The lowest bouquet has about 14 channels or so, with an obvious exclusion of the choice sports, movies and news channels. Whilst the premium bouquet has the over 100 channels including the ones we never watch. And then the 30 days subscription expires, whether or not the subscriber watches.

I need just a few channels that show what I need to watch and what catches my fancy, and that’s what I want to pay for. Let me pay for that. Don’t charge me for a religious channel or a Rwanda Tv that I will never ever tune to (sincere apologies for names mentioned. It is just a general example). Why can’t my subscription be charged only when my decoder is active. I should not be in the office and my bill is running when no human being is in my house. I should not be away from the country and my bill is running. It’s a complete rip-off. It has to stop. But again this is Nigeria where anything goes. Where all manners of anomaly are permissible. Where people are allowed to get away with all manners of impunity. It is sad. It is sickening. It is frustrating. It is nerve-wrecking.

Now what is the option available to MultiChoice DSTv, as it will amount to a pure academic exercise to criticize without offering a solution? I think MultiChoice DSTv should consider implementing something called fixed service charge per month to cover their fixed costs. The concept of fixed service charge is understandable, is acceptable and should be what is operational. The fixed service charge plus the PAYW would be the billing to the user and not just a monthly flat rate as it is currently operational. The concept of the fixed charge is what is being used by PHCN in Nigeria as of today. It’s an absolutely fantastic idea. Very brilliant piece of thinking. You can apply and charge me fixed service charge on a monthly basis and then let me choose the content I pay for (which is now the PAYW part of the bill, on per usage basis). Let me choose how I use my subscription. Let me determine how I use up my N14,000.00 subscription. Let it be my choice to determine how long it takes me to do another recharge. This is all we are asking should be operational here. It makes valid sense. It makes valid reasoning. It makes things easy for all parties, as nobody feels cheated.
I am of utmost believe that this approach makes everybody happy….and it is a win/win situation, for MultiChoice DSTv and the rest of us.
Adetomiwa Olatoye
olatoyetomiwa@yahoo.com / 08023034561 / Accountant / Ikoyi – Lagos State

Views expressed are solely that of author and has no association with www.omojuwa.com nor its associates

?MultiChoice (DSTv) Tariffs And The Rest Of Us By Adetomiwa Olatoye

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I need not begin to introduce to the readers that the biggest singular cable-service provider in Nigeria is the MultiChoice DSTv. I would also not need to remind the readers that MultiChoice DSTv have increased tariffs arbitrarily in the past without consideration to the rest of us and they have infact made tariff increment a yearly affair. I do not need to remind us that the even the service delivered to us under the current arrangement is below par (when compared to the service enjoyed in the outside world) despite the acrimoniously heavy tariffs – please share with me what happens to your service at the slightest indication of a rainfall. Share with me how many minutes you have to wait for the decoder/service to come back up when there is rain downpour. I do not need to remind us that our leaders have done nothing about this insensitivity and that they will do nothing about it, despite the fact that most of them are supposedly well-travelled.

My job today is to throw open to us the exploitative nature of the billing system adopted by MultiChoice DSTv in Nigeria and deception sold to the rest of us overtime. Same MultiChoice DSTv is a South African company and they run pay-as-you-watch (which I will henceforth refer to as PAYW in this write-up) over there. I am aware that’s the system run in Europe as well, to a larger percentage. The question bothering the minds of most Nigerians is why can’t this billing system be implemented here in Nigeria. Why is this so difficult? The current system being implemented is a complete a rip-off and smacks of cooperate cheating. Look at this way. I am here in my office at the moment, nobody is in my house right now because my wife is also at work and my kids have gone to school, hence my house is currently devoid of a living soul and so the Tv is not on, yet my bill is running. That is completely outrageous. Think about it. MultiChoice DSTv is taking serious advantage of the Nigerian situation. It becomes more appalling and more nerve-wrecking when you realize that our leaders and policy-makers make no concerted effort to correct this imbalance, despite their claims to being well-travelled.

Matter-of-factly, DSTV subscription in Nigeria is pre-paid anyways. Interpretation – you cannot enjoy the service without paying first. My interaction with people shows people don’t have a problem with paying. The point is let it be charged/billed PAYW and we will be fine. Let me be charged only when I switch on my decoder. My decoder cannot be off and inactive and yet my bill is running. I travel out of the country for 2 weeks, yet my bill is running. So I pay for one month, I enjoy 2 weeks service, then next month I go and pay for another 1month again. I dare say again that it is a complete rip-off. It is completely amazing that anybody would put up a defense for such anomaly.

Let the billing / charging system be changed to PAYW and we will be fine. I have a convincing believe that MultiChoice DSTv will even get more customers/subscribers with that system/approach. But they are currently blind to the realization of that truth.

?There is a wide gap of difference between PAYW and flat rate system. For instance (and this example may not be completely sacrosanct), it is just like my Telephone. If I Load 5k on it, I can choose to use it for 1 month or 2 months or 3 months, if I like. Or I can even use it completely in 2 days. It is my choice, and it is very fine by me because it is charged per usage. This is exactly what should be happening to the DSTv billing system. When GSM came into Nigeria, there is no manner of argument that MTN (another South African company) did not put forward to say per-second billing is not possible nor realizable. Then enter Globacom and the rest is history. Today, we are all living witnesses to the situation on our telephone billing. This exactly is what we are demanding MultiChoice DSTv to adopt for the billing system….a PAYW billing mode, just like it happens in other places.

?Some people have attempted to throw-up an argument of the content providers in defense of the service providers. And my position is simple. Give me the choice of the content that provides PAYW and the ones that stipulates a flat rate, and then let me choose. Let it be my choice these are the contents I want to use my subscription to watch, and then charge me on PAYW. Again like my telephone, I have a Youtube app on it. But this does not necessarily mean I must use my data-plan to watch the Youtube. It has to be my choice. I am allowed to choose if the Youtube app on my phone is more important to me or it is just the regular Twitter and Facebook apps I want to use my data-plan for. I should be able to choose. This is a modern world. Leave me with the option to choose what I want to watch and then charge me pari-pasu my content choice in a PAYW billing mode, even if it costs me more.

Currently, the MultiChoice DSTv premium bouquet has close to about 100 stations or so. The big question is how many of it do I tune to. How many of these stations do I get to watch? Why should I be billed for something that doesn’t even catch my fancy? Why must I be charged for it? Why must it be on my bill? These are very pertinent questions. There are currently about 6 different bouquets on the DSTv, each with different fixed prices (flat rate). The lowest bouquet has about 14 channels or so, with an obvious exclusion of the choice sports, movies and news channels. Whilst the premium bouquet has the over 100 channels including the ones we never watch. And then the 30 days subscription expires, whether or not the subscriber watches.

I need just a few channels that show what I need to watch and what catches my fancy, and that’s what I want to pay for. Let me pay for that. Don’t charge me for a religious channel or a Rwanda Tv that I will never ever tune to (sincere apologies for names mentioned. It is just a general example). Why can’t my subscription be charged only when my decoder is active. I should not be in the office and my bill is running when no human being is in my house. I should not be away from the country and my bill is running. It’s a complete rip-off. It has to stop. But again this is Nigeria where anything goes. Where all manners of anomaly are permissible. Where people are allowed to get away with all manners of impunity. It is sad. It is sickening. It is frustrating. It is nerve-wrecking.

Now what is the option available to MultiChoice DSTv, as it will amount to a pure academic exercise to criticize without offering a solution? I think MultiChoice DSTv should consider implementing something called fixed service charge per month to cover their fixed costs. The concept of fixed service charge is understandable, is acceptable and should be what is operational. The fixed service charge plus the PAYW would be the billing to the user and not just a monthly flat rate as it is currently operational. The concept of the fixed charge is what is being used by PHCN in Nigeria as of today. It’s an absolutely fantastic idea. Very brilliant piece of thinking. You can apply and charge me fixed service charge on a monthly basis and then let me choose the content I pay for (which is now the PAYW part of the bill, on per usage basis). Let me choose how I use my subscription. Let me determine how I use up my N14,000.00 subscription. Let it be my choice to determine how long it takes me to do another recharge. This is all we are asking should be operational here. It makes valid sense. It makes valid reasoning. It makes things easy for all parties, as nobody feels cheated.
I am of utmost believe that this approach makes everybody happy….and it is a win/win situation, for MultiChoice DSTv and the rest of us.
Adetomiwa Olatoye
olatoyetomiwa@yahoo.com / 08023034561 / Accountant / Ikoyi – Lagos State

Views expressed are solely that of author and has no association with www.omojuwa.com nor its associates